Early Morning Breakfast Friends
by Echopath
Summary: Sanji wakes up to find Usopp already in the kitchen. (UsoSan Oneshot Fluff)
It was a dreary morning to say the least when Sanji's alarm went off. The sun was blocked by a blanket of clouds, with rain pattering against Sunny's decks. Sanji's warm bed begged him not to venture out into the cool and wet morning, but he knew if he didn't get started breakfast now he wouldn't have enough time to finish all the meat Luffy would require. So with a groan, he dragged himself out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom, where he quickly got ready for the day.

Once he had brushed his teeth and straightened his tie, Sanji lit a cigarette and walked into the kitchen. The kitchen was beautiful, Sanji mused to himself, the way the dull light of morning filtered into the room, reflecting against the copper pots and pans, the way the room ever so slightly smelt of last night's dinner. It was Heaven.

Reaching up, Sanji pulled the largest pan off of the shelf, placing onto the oven, and grabbed two dozen eggs from the icebox. With a skilled hand, Sanji cracked the eggs, each one sizzling as it plopped onto the hot surface. He quickly broke the yolks and scrambled the eggs, tossing various spices into the mixture, taking a long drag from his cigarette as he watched the golden concoction come to life.

As he turned to grab some sausage, Sanji glanced out into the dining room, and saw a lone figure, Usopp, watching him contently.

"What the fuck, Usopp!?" Sanji nearly dropped the sausage in surprise, "When did you get here!?"

"Franky was late taking over the night watch," Usopp yawned, picking at something that was on his shirt, "So instead of going back to sleep I figured I might as well chill in here until breakfast."

"Oh," Sanji turned back to the eggs, taking them off the heat before they burned, "Well, alright."

A silence filled the room, Sanji working silently on breakfast, and Usopp quietly watching him. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, and Sanji soon became engrossed in his work once again.

"Why do you always add red bell peppers to the eggs?" Sanji jumped slightly, having forgotten Usopp was there was a second, he turned to the sniper.

"It... uh... adds flavor."

"Oh, I guess I never really noticed."

"Okay..."

The silence fell once more.

As Sanji just finished squeezing the orange juice, there was a pitter patter of feet as Nami and Robin entered, distracting Sanji completely, and the silence was lifted.

* * *

Sanji didn't think about the encounter with Usopp until a few days later, when Sanji walked into the kitchen, and saw Usopp sitting at the dining room counter.

"What are you up to?" Sanji asked, pausing to light a new cigarette.

"Franky was late again," Usopp yawned.

"Oh," and with that, Sanji took a pot out of the cabinet, filled it halfway with water, and put it on the oven.

"What are you making today?"

"I figure soup would be good for the cooler weather we've been having."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense."

Sanji took a long drag from his cigarette and began to chop up some carrots.

"How in the world do you make such tiny cuts without hurting yourself?"

"Practice, I used to cut myself all the time when I was just starting."

"Could you teach me?"

"What?" Sanji looked up from the carrots, nearly nicking one of his fingertips as his concentration shifted.

"I feel bad that you have to do all the cooking," Usopp scratched nervously at something on his hand, Sanji could almost swear that the long-nosed man was blushing, "I was thinking that I could help out with some of the smaller stuff."

"Um," Sanji was utterly tongue-tied, he didn't think Usopp had ever shown interest in cooking before, "Yeah, sure, why not?"

Sanji shifted his cutting board over next to where Usopp was, and showed him the correct way to cut the carrots. Usopp watched intently, noting the way Sanji moved the blade in an almost circular motion, and tucked his fingertips under his second knuckles to avoid cutting them.

"Now you try it while I finish up with the beef," Sanji passed Usopp the knife, who took it carefully, and turned back to the soup. As he tasted the broth, he could here Usopp slowly chopping up the carrots, undoubtedly go at such an excruciating pace to make sure he didn't accidentally cut himself.

"Here," Sanji said was a sigh, he turned back to Usopp, and took the sniper's hands, pushing them into a faster rhythm. Sanji was immediately startled by how rough Usopp's hands were, but after a second consideration, Sanji realized it was just that his hands were just very soft, it's not like he used them for anything besides cooking.

"Going too slow is more of a hindrance than a help," Sanji advised, watching his hands as they directed Usopp's, "That how you end up with burnt soup."

Sanji removed his hands, and Usopp kept pace, soon Sanji was adding the carrots to the soup while Usopp made the orange juice.

It was quiet, but it wasn't a bad quiet.

Soon the girls arrived, and Sanji's thoughts of Usopp's hands evaporated.

* * *

It was soon a common practice for Usopp to meet Sanji in the kitchen, even sometimes waking up with him when he didn't have the night watch.

Sanji would teach Usopp a new cooking skill, and Usopp would ask Sanji questions.

They never had what one could define as a conversation, but every morning Sanji would look forward to seeing Usopp waiting for him, to teach him a new skill, to feel his hands while he directed them.

* * *

It was another rainy morning when Sanji was again awoken by his alarm, with a yawn, Sanji drug himself out of bed, but as he went into the washroom, his breathed in deep, and smelt something. Something cooking.

Turning into the kitchen, Sanji saw Usopp. Usopp cracking two eggs into a small pan. Usopp brewing a pot of coffee. Usopp cooking toast.

"Uh," Sanji shuffled into the room, not entirely aware of the fact he was still in his pajamas and his hair was an utter mess, "What are you doing?"

Usopp turned towards Sanji, the pan with the eggs still in his hand, "Oh," he said brightly, a smile glinting across his features, "I figured you would enjoy a quick breakfast before you started on everyone else's."

That's when Sanji felt it, a horrible, agonizing pain in his chest unlike anything he had ever felt before. "Um," Sanji gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the pain, "Thanks, I'm gonna go get ready while you finish up..." and he absconded as quickly as he could.

As soon as he reached the bathroom, Sanji ripped off his night shirt and examined his chest. It didn't appear as though he had sustained any sort of injury during the night, and the pain had quickly dulled to a point where it didn't hurt as much as tingled once he had left the kitchen. Quickly cleaning himself up, Sanji lit a cigarette to calm his nerves, and went back into the kitchen.

The breakfast Usopp had made sat on the counter, the toast was a little bit burnt, and the eggs were a little under seasoned, but Sanji ate it all quickly and thanked Usopp, being careful not to look him in the eyes.

"Can you chop these onions?" Sanji asked, handing Usopp a pair of onions, "I'm making omelets today."

"No problem," Usopp took the onions, his fingers grazing Sanji's. The pain in Sanji's chest sliced through him, nearly causing him to double over, but he clenched his teeth, took a drag from his cigarette, and returned to his work.

The entire morning, Sanji kept his cool exterior, but inside he was having a full on panic attack. Had he been poisoned? Was it something he had eaten? He would have noticed if something poisonous had ended up in one of his dishes.

"I finished the onions, is there something else you want me to do?"

"Yeah, can you get started on the orange juice?"

"No problem."

Sanji took the onions from Usopp, being careful not to touch him, and added them to the eggs.

Was it something in the breakfast Usopp had made? Impossible, Usopp would know better. Would he? All it had been was some bacon, eggs, and toast, there is no way something could be slipped in there.

"Sanji?" Sanji's heart skipped, "Where did you put the juicer?"

"It should be in the cabinet right next to the icebox."

"Oh, duh, thanks Sanji."

"No problem," Sanji felt his face heat up as Usopp brushed past him.

Okay, what's the pattern? Sanji had only started feeling the pain this morning, so whatever it was had happened that day. He felt it first when Usopp made him breakfast. He felt it again when he touched Usopp's hand. He felt it when Usopp brushed pass him. It didn't take him long to crack the case.

Sanji dropped his spatula, but quickly picked it back up and rinsed it off. How could it possibly be Usopp? It just didn't make any sense.

"Morning you guys" A high-pitched yawn turned Sanji's attention away from his dilemma and to Chopper as he walked into the dining room, "What are we having today?"

"Omelets and Bacon," Usopp answered cheerily, still juicing the oranges.

"Sounds yummy!"

Sanji didn't say anything as the other members of the Straw Hat crew entered, nor as he dished out the omelets. All the while avoiding any contact with Usopp.

* * *

Once breakfast was over, and everything had been cleaned up, Sanji blew out a ring of smoke, and plopped down into one of the dining chairs, but as soon has his rear hit the hard surface of the wood, his mind was flooded with thoughts of a certain, rough-handed crew member. Sanji stood up so quickly he nearly knocked over the chair, and retreated into the kitchen, hoping that cooking would clear his mind a bit.

It didn't take long before the intrusive thoughts returned. ' _Usopp would probably like chocolate cake,_ ' Sanji mused, cracking three eggs into a bowl and mixing them with butter and milk, ' _No. I'm not think about him right now. I'm thinking about how Nami's hair is a beautiful red, and how his rough hands feel in mine, and he always blushes a little bit when he smiles..._ '

Sanji then spent the next half an hour musing over Usopp, his hands moving automatically as he added chocolate powder and sugar to his mixture, pouring it into a baking tin and placing it into a preheated oven he hadn't remembered preheating.

It was only when he heard the door to the kitchen open that Sanji woke up from his daydreams. "Hey Sanji," Usopp stretched widely, "Can I get a glass of lemonade? We hit a warm spot."

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure," Sanji hid his very red face in the icebox, he held out a pitcher of lemonade, "Here you go."

"Thanks," Sanji felt the weight lift from his hand, rough hands, Usopp's hands, Sanji's breath caught in his chest, "Oh, who's the cake for?"

Sanji smacked his head on the roof of the icebox, "Ow fuck, huh?"

"There's a cake right here, Sanji," Usopp's voice was one of amusement, Sanji refused to look at his smile, "Are you saying you didn't make it?"

"No, I made it," Sanji said, extricating himself from the icebox and turning towards the kitchen counter, where sure enough, there was a cake that Sanji had a hazy memory of making, "I... uh... I made it for you...?"

A very awkward silence fell over the two men, Sanji not being exactly sure how to explain this sudden gift of cake, and what Usopp's reaction to whatever the explanation turned out to be.

"For the breakfast," Sanji decided after a very long second, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "It's a thank you for the breakfast." Sanji held his breath, waiting for Usopp to respond. Finally, after an even longer time, that was probably shorter in reality, Usopp chuckled.

"Thanks Sanji," Usopp, Sanji looked up, Usopp was smiling, and he was walking towards Sanji. Sanji's chest exploded, and thousands of scenarios played out in his head, Usopp passed him, he smelled of grease and gunpowder from working on his weapons, and opened the silverware drawer. Sanji watched as Usopp extracted two forks from the drawer, and held one out to the chef. A silent question.

Sanji carefully took the fork from Usopp, his hand touching Usopp's for a moment before he pulled away. A silent answer.

The two shared a smile, and each dug their forks into the cake, ignoring the need for plates.


End file.
